Sign up to Roisin O’Connor’s free weekly newsletter Now Hear This for the inside track on all things music Get our Now Hear This email for free
The 39th annual Brit Awards are almost upon us.
This year’s nominations have been praised for placing a greater emphasis on female talent than usual, with more women shortlisted for Best Single, Best Video, Best Breakthrough and Best Album than men. A more diverse range of genres are also represented, from rapper Giggs to R&B singers Jorja Smith and Ella Mai , electronica stalwart Aphex Twin and jazz musician Kamasi Washington.
Whether the Brits can conjure another shock moment of the same calibre as Chumbawamba dumping a bucket of water over John Prescott, Jarvis Cocker mooning Michael Jackson or Stormzy denouncing prime minister Theresa May over Grenfell Tower remains to be seen.
When are the Brit Awards, how can I watch the ceremony and who’s hosting?
This year’s Brits will be broadcast from London’s O2 Arena on ITV as usual, running from 8pm to 10.20pm on Wednesday evening.
The 10 most shocking moments at the Brit AwardsShow all 10 1 /10The 10 most shocking moments at the Brit Awards The 10 most shocking moments at the Brit Awards Madonna falling over (2015) It was a “thud” heard the world over. Madonna was performing “Living for Love” at the ceremony in 2015 when her spectacular cape failed to detach and a dancer, who was supposed to pull it from her as she stood at the top of some stairs, accidentally pulled her down with it. Madonna dropped her mic as well as suffering the nasty fall, but managed to finish the song.
Getty Images
The 10 most shocking moments at the Brit Awards Sam Fox and Mick Fleetwood (1989) In one of the worst presenter mismatches ever, Page 3 model Samantha Fox and rock star Mick Fleetwood made a disastrous appearance that involved a broken autocue, fumbled lines and several mix-ups with guest appearances. The show was panned by critics and it took considerable effort by organisers to claw back the Brits’ reputation.
Rex
The 10 most shocking moments at the Brit Awards Jarvis Cocker protesting Michael Jackson (1996) The Pulp frontman was highly irritated by Jackson’s fussy, self-indulgent performance of “Earth Song”, and made that known to the rest of the world by invading the stage and pretending to moon the audience.
PA
The 10 most shocking moments at the Brit Awards Geri Halliwell (1997) The Spice Girl’s era-defining Union Jack dress was worn during the band’s performance of “Who Do You Think You Are” – a show that was later voted the most Memorable Performance of 30 Years at the Brit Awards in 2010.
Reuters
The 10 most shocking moments at the Brit Awards Sharon Osborne and Vic Reeves (2008) When comedian Vic Reeves stumbled over his words and appeared to forget which award he was presenting, host Sharon Osborne lost her temper. Thinking Reeves was drunk, she grabbe his microphone and pushed him away, calling him a “pissed b***ard” and telling him to “piss off”. Reeves later claimed the incident was actually caused by an autocue malfunction.
YouTube/Brits
The 10 most shocking moments at the Brit Awards Ronnie Wood and Brandon Block (2000) Ronnie Wood almost got in a physical fight at the Brits after a visibly drunk Brandon Block jumped on stage in the belief that he’d won the award for Best Soundtrack. As the comedian was led off-stage by security, an irritated Wood called him a “c***”, prompting Block to break loose and square up to the Rolling Stones legend. Wood threw a glass of water in Block’s face and looked decidedly smug as Block was dragged away again by security.
The 10 most shocking moments at the Brit Awards Noel Gallagher insulting Michael Hutchence (1997) It’s quite tough to choose from the many controversies Oasis embroiled themselves in at the Brits, but none are so awkward as this one, where Noel Gallagher insulted INXS singer Michael Hutchence as he presented the band with an award. “Has-beens shouldn’t present f***ing awards to gonna-bes,” he announced, to the singer’s embarrassment.
PA
The 10 most shocking moments at the Brit Awards Kanye West debuting “All Day” (2015) Kanye West stormed the stage at the Brits in 2015, where he debuted his track “All Day”. However, it was who he brought with him that caused the biggest stir, as the US rapper invited some of the best of British MCs, including Skepta, Stormzy, Novelist, Jammer, Krept and Konan, and Fekky. It felt like a winning moment and middle finger up at a ceremony – and industry – that had consistently shut out, ignored or misrepresented black artists.
PA
The 10 most shocking moments at the Brit Awards Chumbawumba and John Prescott (1998) Politics and music don’t always mix, as was the case when John Prescott turned up at the ceremony in 1998, drawing the ire of indie band Chumbawamba. During the show, vocalist Danbert Nobacon poured a jug of iced water over his head, and the band later attacked New Labour on stage, singing: “New Labour sold out the dockers, just like they sell out to us.”
Reuters
The 10 most shocking moments at the Brit Awards Stormzy calling out Theresa May (2018) After triumphing with two of the night’s biggest awards, south London grime MC Stormzy put on a phenomenal, show-closing performance where he delivered a furious, freestyle attack on Theresa May and her handling of the Grenfell tragedy. “Yo Theresa May where’s the money for Grenfell,” he demanded, adding: “What you thought we just forgot about Grenfell?/ You’re criminals, and you got the cheek to call us savages/ You should do some jail timer, you should pay some damages/ We should burn your house down and see if you can manage this.”
PA
The Independent' s Culture team will also be covering the evening on our site.
As for the host, comedian Jack Whitehall will again court controversy as master of ceremonies . “Let’s see who I can upset this year,” he wrote on Twitter.
Who is performing?
Dua Lipa , Sam Smith and Rag ‘n’ Bone Man will all perform alongside DJ Calvin Harris . The set is expected to feature “One Kiss”, “Promises” and “Giant”, the singles Harris produced with those artists respectively.
Pink is expected to close the show after picking up her award for Outstanding Contribution to Music.
Who is nominated?
George Ezra , Little Mix , Jess Glynne , Dua Lipa and Jorja Smith lead this year’s nominations.
Glynne and Smith are up against Florence + the Machine, Anne-Marie and Lily Allen for Best British Female.
Ezra is shortlisted for Best British Male along with Sam Smith, Craig David, Aphex Twin and Giggs.
Jorja Smith is also in the running for British Breakthrough, as are Ella Mai, Tom Walker, Mabel and punk band Idles.
For Best British Group, Arctic Monkeys , Gorillaz , Years & Years, The 1975 and Little Mix have all been recognised.
The 1975 are also up for Best Album for A Brief Enquiry into Online Relationships . Florence + the Machine (High as Hope ), Ezra (Staying at Tamara’s ), Jorja Smith (Lost and Found ) and Anne-Marie (Speak Your Mind ) are the competition.
Best International Female is between Cardi B, Camila Cabello, Christine and the Queens, Ariana Grande and Janelle Monae.
Best International Male will go to Drake, Eminem, Kamasi Washington, Shawn Mendes or Travis Scott.
You can read the full list of nominations here .
Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies